Stallone Puts 'Rocky,' 'Rambo' Memorabilia Up for Auction

The auction includes Rocky's gloves, robe and boxing trunks.

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In this file photo, Sylvester Stallone poses on the top steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art before the bronze statue of Stallone portraying the boxer Rocky Balboa from the film "Rocky III" is unveiled in Philadelphia, Friday, Sept. 8, 2006.

Sylvester Stallone is parting with memorabilia from the "Rocky" and "Rambo" movies, but he's keeping the two characters alive onscreen.

The 69-year-old entertainer announced Thursday that he'll put hundreds of props and costumes from his 40-year career up for auction in October, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting military charities. Some of the items Stallone has agreed to sell include Rambo's Army jacket and Rocky's gloves, robe and boxing trunks.

Stallone isn't saying goodbye to the characters. Instead, he's set to become Rocky Balboa again onscreen in "Creed" this fall and is working on another "Rambo" installment.

Stallone said today's fascination with cinematic superheroes leaves little room for the "lone wolf" or "man against the odds" characters he likes to play.

"That's kind of why I'm still around, because I embrace that and it's become kind of a rarity and there's not many of us left," he said in a recent interview. "Will that come around again? I don't think so. Not in its purest form... So I embrace it and that's why I want to continue to do it until my body explodes."

First up is "Creed," by writer-director Ryan Coogler. Stallone is Rocky, but this time he's coach to a young star boxer played by Michael B. Jordan.

At work now on a screenplay for a new "Rambo" film, Stallone admitted, "It really is not fun."

He still thinks the character is compelling — "Where Rocky is the height of optimism, this guy is the height of pessimism," he said — but finds writing more challenging than any other artistic discipline.

"I saw the John Wayne auction and I thought it would have been so much more effective if John Wayne had still been alive so he could explain to his fans what some of his pieces meant to him," Stallone said. "I'm not that young, but still aware enough to appreciate the people that will appreciate owning (these items)."

He plans to use some of the auction proceeds to demonstrate his appreciation to those who have inspired his most popular characters by supporting military charities.

"I think my image and what I've played throughout my career has been very American and very military-oriented and also police-oriented," Stallone said. "It basically is something that has bolstered my career so I thought I'd like to pay back the real people that have supplied the inspiration for the characters I've played."